Mad About Madrid

Feria de Arte Independiente de Madrid Opens

The Feria de Arte Independiente de Madrid or (Independent Art Fair of Madrid) opens its doors today 28th September, 2006 and runs until the 1st October. The objective of the fair is quite clear: to support and promote independent artists, whose art is exhibited without an y intermediaries (sounds like I translated that one directly!!).

The exhibition (fair) takes place in the Pabellón de La Pipa del Recinto Ferial de la casa de Campo de Madrid, where over 200 artists from countries as diverse as Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Portugal, Canada, Israel, China and Argentina and, obviously, Spain will display their art. Each year one country acts as the "invted country" and this year it falls to South Africa, whose ambassador will open the fair.

Opening times
12 p.m to 9 p.m

Cost
6 Euros

Location
Casa de Campo
Metro: Casa de Campo

White Night in Madrid

On Saturday 23rd September and Sunday, 24th September many of Madrid's most famous buildings and locations will be lit up for the night and a number of 'nocturnal' (not just drinking!)events will take place. The "La Noche en Blanco Madrid" website describes the event thus:

The White Night corresponds to the model created by Paris' Nuit Blanche, based on key concepts such as the city, night, culture, contemporary creation, cost-free experiences, discovering the city's spaces and values, and pedestrian mobility supported by public transport and participation.

Furthermore:

The White Night gathers a significant number of contemporary art galleries, bookshops, venues linked to design activities, live music venues, and playhouses and alternative theatres. A vast number of taverns, bars and restaurants have also wanted to take part in the initiative, forming a gastronomic circuit (see organisation and collaboration sections).

The website is pants, like many websites that come out of Madrid!, though it sort of gives you an idae of what's going on that night.

Hay Festival Segovia

According to Wiki:

Since 1988, Hay-on-Wye has been the venue for a literary festival, sponsored by The Guardian newspaper, which draws a claimed 80,000 visitors over ten days at the beginning of June to see and hear big literary names from all over the world.

However, from the 21st-24th September, 2006 the festival will decamp to Spain for the Hay Festival Segovia. They have quite a lineup organised for the event, including Bob Geldof, Martin Amis, Ian Mc Ewan, Antonio Muñoz Molina, Ian Gibson, Doris Lessing, Fernando Savater, Chris Stewart and Vikram Seth will be amogst the speakers. There will be a concert by Bob Geldof and various film screenings. If you've never been to the unbelievably beautiful city of Segovia, this will be a fantastic opportunity.

Purchasing Tickets
Click here to buy tickets over the Internet >

Buy tickets over the phone from 1st September: +34 902101212

(9:00 am- 9:00 pm)

Ticket Prices
  7€ per event
3€ per screening

Related Article
Segovia - Alcázar , Aqueduct, Cathedral and great food

And Now ... Something Not Related To Madrid - Well, Almost!

I've never actually asked people for money on this site but today I wil break this rule and ask you for some money on behalf of a fantastic UK-based charity. On Sunday one of my best friends, Jerry Sandford, will be running the the Bristol Half Marathon (UK) and trying to raise money for a children's charity called the Make A Wish Foundation which helps grant wishes to children and young people from the age of 3 to 17 years old who have life-threatening or terminal conditions. And the Madrid connection - in the photo you will see a young boy, with a life-threatening heart condition, being granted the wish of seeing Il Divo in concert (one of the singers, Carlos Marin, is from Madrid).

This is the link to the donations page - please give whatever you can.

Rubén Olmo Stars as Bullfighter Belmonte

It seems like there has been quite a flood of flamenco shows going on in Madrid recently. Well, here´s another show to add to that list: Belmonte, starring one of Flamenco´s contemporary stars - Rubén Olmo. It is loosely based on the life of one of the 2oth Century´s great bullfighters, Juan Belmonte and runs from the 5th to 10th September, 2006 at the Teatro Albeniz. Ticket prices cost from 15 to 22 Euros.